Man Sculpts Animals Out of Dead Trees at Cayce Riverwalk

Cayce, SC (WLTX) - One artist in the Midlands is turning dead trees that have fallen down at the Cayce Riverwalk to works of art.

Wade Geddings, a native of Florence and now a resident in the Midlands area, was contacted by the City of Cayce to make art out of dried up wood. The method he makes it is unique, a chainsaw.

"When you say chainsaw, people are like ah," laughed Geddings. "You don't think of that as an instrument or something that can be used with control in that way."

Geddings says he got involved with the project after the floods in October 2015. The artist has been asked to make twelve sculptures throughout the riverwalk.

"To have something that big and bad and to have to erase it and changed the energy, I thought that was a realy clean way to kind of rebound and take back some of the impact that flood had," said Geddings.

The Mayor of Cayce, Elise Partin, says the city wanted to keep the park natural and she feels that Geddings art work preserves that.

"It just fit with the natural setting of the riverwalk. It's fun, for people who go out to the Mice on Main in Greenville and they can go and hut each animal or it's surprise art and they may not know that it's here and it's a nice delighful surprise when they're out here in nature and enjoying being out door," said Partin.

Partin also says this is something unique that most people haven't seen before.

"I don't know anything like this. I don't know another art project like this in South Carolina. It just adds to what is already an amazing riverwalk," said Partin.

One way Geddings feels so connected with his art work is because he used to walk around the riverwalk with his dog.

"His name was Cash. I think about it him everyday. Him passing really paused everything on me for awhile after. He was my homie," said Geddings.

Although Cash weighs heavy on his mind at times, he feels that this helps him stay connected with his four-legged friend.

Art is known for having its critiques but it doesn't seem to bother Geddings at all.

"When are you going to start contribuiting to society? I'd like to think that my art makes an impact on society," laughs Geddings.

If you want to check out some of his art work, you can check out the artwork on the Cayce Riverwalk. The best place to start is near the parking lot off of Axtell Drive on Naples Street.